Peacocks in Austin's Rescue Zoo

I don't usually like to go to zoos, but the Austin zoo is an exception. That is because it is a rescue zoo and sanctuary.

Last weekend while we were there, I was totally captivated by the peacocks and peahens that wander about freely within the zoo, hopping in and out of other enclosures at will.

I have seen several peacocks in India and here in the US, but I am always still awed by the extreme ostentatiousness of their plumage. How complex the combination of colors are! I wonder if they know how striking their appearance is.

They must be pretty used to the attention they get, because they pretty much ignored me as I stalked them with my camera.

As the sun started to go down, many of them suddenly launched into this cacophony of screams and calls ...

... and fanned out their feathers as they walked about with heads held high.

Of course, the lady looked pretty unimpressed. I wish she hadn't been sitting against those trees, or I could've got a better picture of her.

I had a collection of peacock feathers as a kid in India, and remember well how soft and silky the shiny feathers are.

The weather is turning warm here, but the wildflowers still linger. Spring has taken its time here this year. Wishing you a colorful week, until next time ...

It's wildflower season in Austin!

It's been almost three months since my last post, and I've been trying to get motivated to start blogging again. And spring in Austin brought me the motivation I was looking for! It's been a very wet winter here, with lots and lots of rain. Maybe as a result, the roadsides are completely bursting with color now - it's wildflower season in Austin!

Carpeting the grassy slopes on the sides of the road is the Texas state flower - the blue bonnet. Dotting the fresh green foliage everywhere are its striking blue petals with pearl-like white tips. To add to the splash of color, there is the bright orange Texas paintbrush - its flower is actually small and yellow, but more prominent are its flame-orange bracts.

This highway runs outside our subdivision and I've been seeing this vision along the roadside all week as I've driven by. Today, finally, I took my camera, got off the road and took some pictures.

Sitting amongst the flowers, I noticed hundreds of tinier flowers, in yellow, magenta and pink, in addition to the blue bonnets and paintbrush that are visible from a distance. The fragrance there was out of this world. I really didn't want to leave.

Spring is so fleeting in Austin ... all this will melt away soon and the dreaded Texas heat will soon be in place. I guess such is life ... But for now, I am breathing deeply and savoring this beautiful season in Austin.

The Best Walk in Austin

I do believe I live in one of the prettiest parts of Texas. For just a street away from ours is a greenbelt that extends for miles and miles into the center of Austin. This greenbelt was the main attraction that convinced us that we were choosing the correct house to live in. And it has certainly not disappointed.

A short walk from home brings us to a little stream that often completely dries up during hot summer months. So most of the time we can skip over the rocks and cross over into the greenbelt and start our hike. It has been raining heavily in Austin this winter though, and so the little stream is now a swelling river! We could still have waded across, but we took a longer, drier route into the greenbelt some days ago.



A short distance down the trail there is a "waterfall". There is never much water here, and though the pool below the fall has always had at least a little water, it's usually dry enough to sit on the rocks above and watch the pool. So imagine our surprise when we saw this pretty waterfall that completely stopped us from crossing!



This beautiful greenbelt has a network of trails where one can easily get lost. So there is always another route that we can take if there's a problem with one of them. Instead of crossing over the fall as we usually do, we continued on this side of the stream and followed the trail further.

We were in the shade, but the setting sun lit up the trees across the stream from us, and their reflection in the still water was breathtaking.



We soon came to a second, more shallow waterfall where the water going over the smooth rock sheets was transparent as glass, then exploded like crystal as it fell on the rocks below.



We continued on the trail, and followed the sound of the water falling as it tripped over gnarled tree roots exposed by the force of the stream.



Further along, the setting sun lit up the foliage and its reflection marked the water like liquid gold.


We had by then walked for an hour and a half, following the stream, and the sound of the water falling.


It was getting dark, and so we stopped at this point where there was a deep, clear pool of water beneath us, and flat rocks along the stream. A perfect campsite ... and so close to home! Much as we wanted to continue along this endless trail, we decided to stop since it was rapidly getting dark. As we headed back home, we decided we would be back here to camp.

Three hours of walking in the crisp, cool air, listening to the gurgling sounds of water ... could there be anything more serene?



As this year ends and a new one begins, I wish for you (and for me) a world filled with peace, and serene, quiet moments of delightful contemplation. Happy New Year!

Experiments in Pottery - 1

I took a pottery class this semester, and we are almost done for the year. The last time I took a class in pottery, it was a fully wheel-thrown, short class. I was also working full-time, so couldn't spend much time practicing.

So I took a class again this semester. This time I mostly learned hand-building, and it was so much fun! Slab pots, coil pots, pinch pots and so on ...

I did try one on the wheel to see if I remembered anything from the previous class several years ago. The result was yet another lopsided pot that I glazed a bright blue. :)



One of my first attempts at making a slab pot was this mug. The glazing left some uncovered spots, and I'm not sure how to fix that. So I won't be drinking tea from it as I'd hoped, but it will make a nice cactus-holder!



This coil pot I made just a couple weeks ago, and I think this is the one that turned out closest to what I wanted to do with it, so I quite like it. I've not quite decided what I'll do with it. It was going to be a fruit holder, but now I'm not sure.

Before glazing -


Glazed and finished, waiting for an identity ...



I have a bunch more that I am finishing up. So parts 2 and 3 will feature more experiments. I'm still very unclear about glazing techniques, and need a lot more practice. So please feel free to give me suggestions and comments.

Take care!

The Texas Capitol

Back to the blog world after more than a month ... thanks to those who sent me notes over this time asking if I was ok and saying I was missed. It was nice to know I have you as blog-friends. :)

It's just been very busy here with various activities. I'm back for now, and am looking forward to visiting my favourite blogs and seeing what you have been up to.

The photo club that I'm a member of is putting together an exhibit for the Austin Airport, which will go up in January. The theme for this exhibit is "Looking Up." For this I wanted to photograph the dome of the State Capitol from below, and so went over to the Capitol building several times. Once I got there I realized what an interesting place it is to photograph. I wandered around taking lots of pictures.

The dome is so beautiful seen from below! It took a lot of tries to get a perfectly symmetric picture of it, and this one was selected for the Airport exhibit.



Here is another angle - not symmetric, but with more depth.



The House of Representatives has a beautiful ceiling, with ornate carvings. This picture was also selected for the Airport exhibit.



Even the stairway is a great subject to photograph!



Walking outside, I turned around for one last shot, looking up, at the building against the blue sky.


In case I'm not able to post again before Thanksgiving, have a wonderful holiday, with your family and friends. Happy Thanksgiving!

The Texas Mandrone, Some Desert Critters and a Strange Storm

All over the Guadalupe Mountains National Park area in Texas, we found this gorgeous little tree, the Texas Madrone. This tree is a native of Texas, and has the most gorgeous red bark I've ever seen. This particular tree was near the wash area of our campsite, and I spent a lot of time one evening photographing it lit up with light from the setting sun.



It's deep red and orange-brown bark peels off in thin sheets, exposing the light green surface underneath. The contrast of red and green was so beautiful!



I was standing under the tree with my camera, trying my best to hold still to take slow speed shots, when I saw a tiny movement on the branch near my face. It turned out to be this showy little catterpillar. It looked so pretty, its bright green colors blending well with the reds and greens around it.



Later on, on one of the trails we spotted this pair. They were pretty tiny, and so cute and colorful! I have no idea what kind of insects they are. Just haven't had the time to read up on it. Any clues?


On our drive back from this trip to the Guadalupe Mountains, we experienced the wide open Texas skies. It was very hot, but it was also beautiful in a stark and rugged way.


We also had the oddest experience with this tiny little storm. I have never seen anything like it before, though it probably is common in this part of the world. Though it was generally bright and sunny, there was this one cloud to the left of the highway that was darker than the rest. And there were sheets of rain coming down from it on to the ground directly below. It was moving towards the highway, and kicking up a lot of dust too. We could feel the force of the wind, and drove faster to get out of its way.



This wasn't the only one - we saw more small rain clouds like this a couple more times on this 9 hour drive back to East Texas.


As it got dark, I glanced in the rear view mirror and saw this - the sun setting in the West, on the Guadalupe Mountains, as we sped away from it back home to the East.



Have a great week.